Two Developers Vie For Batterson Park

New Plan Calls For Entertainment Venue

Two developers are offering to buy an 87-acre chunk of Hartford's Batterson Park -- the latest twist in a plan being closely watched by park advocates.

One offer came from a New Jersey-based company that previously said it wanted to build a movie- theater complex on the site -- former reservoir land along the Farmington-New Britain line. The second offer came from a company seeking to put an entertainment venue there, City Manager Saundra Kee Borges said.

Kee Borges would not disclose the prices or specifics on either response to the city's ``public offering.'' She said the process still is in the preliminary stages -- though the deadline for making offers has passed.

The responses should be made public, according to the principal attorney for the state Freedom of Information Commission.

``There is no exemption . . . for responses to public offerings,'' said attorney Barbara Housen. ``The general rule is that all records are public unless [the city] can point to some exemption in the freedom of information law or state statutes.''

Deputy Corporation Counsel Michael C. Collins said he would review recent court decisions to determine if the information is protected.

The city stirred up a controversy in 1996 when it announced plans to sell the land in Batterson Park for $8 million to New Jersey-based AMC Realty Inc.

Parks advocates questioned whether the proposed movie theater would pollute Batterson Park Pond. Other concerns centered on the city's plan to use the $8 million for neighborhood projects and property tax cuts. The municipal code would have to be amended; currently, the code requires that all money generated from the sale of Batterson Park lands go to a parks trust fund.

The publicity also triggered wider interest in the parcel. So the city council in October directed Kee Borges to formally offer the land for sale. Kee Borges was asked to report back to the council by Tuesday. She said a final recommendation won't be ready until she and other city officials sit down with the two developers and discuss the offers.

Council leaders have said they would not bow to pressure from park supporters to keep the land. They say that the heavily wooded land is prime for development, of little use to the city and that the pond can be protected.

Parks advocate Georgette Yaindl said she still plans to pursue legal action to protect Batterson Park Pond. Statutes require that such action be taken after the land is sold. Yaindl said she was not surprised by the city's decision not to make public the offers.

``That's par for their course,'' she said. ``Public disclosure is not one of this council's favored activities.''

City Councilman Michael T. McGarry said he would like to put half of the money from the sale of park land toward a property tax cut, and use most of the rest for taking down abandoned buildings and offsetting the effect of a planned tax revaluation. He said he would earmark about $1 million toward upkeep at Batterson Park.

McGarry said Hartford would be best served by selling the entire park -- which consists of five parcels -- to a private company that could run it as a recreational area and devote more resources.

``It shouldn't be a City of Hartford park,'' McGarry said. ``If it was up to me, I'd sell the whole thing.''